DAVID MURDOCK: Sunrises, sunsets, cloudscapes sources of sheer beauty

Published: Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 7:03 p.m.

Last week, I wrote about my interest in stargazing. That column set me to thinking about another feature of the sky that has grabbed my attention over the years — cloudscapes.

Just as there are landscapes and seascapes, there are cloudscapes. There are plenty of folks who enjoy the white, fluffy clouds of a bright, sunny day, but I prefer the cloudscapes the sun paints as it rises or sets. Frankly, cloudscapes are best when they’re lit by dawn and sundown.

I always enjoy morning cloudscapes on my front porch with a cup of coffee. Just as I never watch a movie without popcorn, I never watch a sunrise without coffee. Coffee adds something ineffable to the experience.

Most days, I’m up and about well before the sun. When people ask me why I get up that early, I usually joke that I don’t take anything for granted and want to make sure the sun actually rises. So far, that old sun has never let me down, but I like to check up on him.

The truth is that I can’t sleep much past first light anyway these days, so I might as well get up and watch the sunrise. However, that’s not really the whole truth either.

Sunrises are simply beautiful, and I don’t like to miss them. The night’s dreams scatter thoughts all around the insides of our heads, and sunrise is the perfect opportunity to gather our thoughts, collect them and recollect them, and order them for the day.

Sunsets, on the other hand, are a perfect time to dispel all the extraneous worries of the ending day and to consign them to the dying fires of the sun’s last rays. I don’t like to carry all the stress and strain of the day into the night, so beautiful sunsets become another time of reflection for me. Our modern lives are stressful enough without needlessly worrying about things we cannot control.

I see almost all sunrises from home, but I never know where I’ll view the sunset. In months with longer days, I usually see them at home. These days, though, I usually see them either from work or driving home from work.

In fact, the best view of sunsets in Etowah County is the westbound lane of the I-759 bridge over the Coosa River.

This time of year, I’m usually heading home a little while after the sun sets, and the bridge offers a spectacular panorama of the sky over the western part of the county. The colors of these sunsets simply defy description. The view lasts only a few minutes, and that brevity makes the view more intense.

The sun’s rising and setting may provide the colors, but the clouds catch and transform those colors into deep, rich hues that no painting, no photograph, no essay can ever hope to reproduce.

I could write thousands more words about cloudscapes without ever capturing exactly the wild and severe majesty of them. I’m sure I will write all those words. I’m also sure I will never be able to describe those cloudscapes to my satisfaction. I cannot even think of the best way to describe the colors.

My favorite cloudscape color is the sort of grayish-purple on the backside of the cloud away from the setting sun. The sun’s dying rays usually outline the bulk of the cloud with a rich, vibrant, soft orange. That orange profoundly complements that grayish-purple. Honestly, I’m going to have to make up a word to describe each color, but then I’d have to write a definition of that word. I’ve already admitted my powerlessness there; there is no need to compound it.

The only person who has ever come close to describing the colors of the sky is the folksinger Kate Campbell. In her song, “Deep Tang,” she compares the color of the Birmingham sky to the breakfast drink. She also correctly acknowledges why these beautiful skies are more spectacular these days — air pollution.

The delicate pastels of the sunrise cloudscape and the deeper, richer hues of the sunset cloudscape bring me back to the thought with which I closed last week’s column: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.” The cloudscapes are as much a part of the heavens as the stars.

David Murdock is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College.

<p>Last week, I wrote about my interest in stargazing. That column set me to thinking about another feature of the sky that has grabbed my attention over the years — cloudscapes.</p><p>Just as there are landscapes and seascapes, there are cloudscapes. There are plenty of folks who enjoy the white, fluffy clouds of a bright, sunny day, but I prefer the cloudscapes the sun paints as it rises or sets. Frankly, cloudscapes are best when they're lit by dawn and sundown.</p><p>I always enjoy morning cloudscapes on my front porch with a cup of coffee. Just as I never watch a movie without popcorn, I never watch a sunrise without coffee. Coffee adds something ineffable to the experience.</p><p>Most days, I'm up and about well before the sun. When people ask me why I get up that early, I usually joke that I don't take anything for granted and want to make sure the sun actually rises. So far, that old sun has never let me down, but I like to check up on him.</p><p>The truth is that I can't sleep much past first light anyway these days, so I might as well get up and watch the sunrise. However, that's not really the whole truth either.</p><p>Sunrises are simply beautiful, and I don't like to miss them. The night's dreams scatter thoughts all around the insides of our heads, and sunrise is the perfect opportunity to gather our thoughts, collect them and recollect them, and order them for the day. </p><p>Sunsets, on the other hand, are a perfect time to dispel all the extraneous worries of the ending day and to consign them to the dying fires of the sun's last rays. I don't like to carry all the stress and strain of the day into the night, so beautiful sunsets become another time of reflection for me. Our modern lives are stressful enough without needlessly worrying about things we cannot control.</p><p>I see almost all sunrises from home, but I never know where I'll view the sunset. In months with longer days, I usually see them at home. These days, though, I usually see them either from work or driving home from work.</p><p>In fact, the best view of sunsets in Etowah County is the westbound lane of the I-759 bridge over the Coosa River. </p><p>This time of year, I'm usually heading home a little while after the sun sets, and the bridge offers a spectacular panorama of the sky over the western part of the county. The colors of these sunsets simply defy description. The view lasts only a few minutes, and that brevity makes the view more intense.</p><p>The sun's rising and setting may provide the colors, but the clouds catch and transform those colors into deep, rich hues that no painting, no photograph, no essay can ever hope to reproduce.</p><p>I could write thousands more words about cloudscapes without ever capturing exactly the wild and severe majesty of them. I'm sure I will write all those words. I'm also sure I will never be able to describe those cloudscapes to my satisfaction. I cannot even think of the best way to describe the colors.</p><p>My favorite cloudscape color is the sort of grayish-purple on the backside of the cloud away from the setting sun. The sun's dying rays usually outline the bulk of the cloud with a rich, vibrant, soft orange. That orange profoundly complements that grayish-purple. Honestly, I'm going to have to make up a word to describe each color, but then I'd have to write a definition of that word. I've already admitted my powerlessness there; there is no need to compound it.</p><p>The only person who has ever come close to describing the colors of the sky is the folksinger Kate Campbell. In her song, “Deep Tang,” she compares the color of the Birmingham sky to the breakfast drink. She also correctly acknowledges why these beautiful skies are more spectacular these days — air pollution.</p><p>The delicate pastels of the sunrise cloudscape and the deeper, richer hues of the sunset cloudscape bring me back to the thought with which I closed last week's column: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.” The cloudscapes are as much a part of the heavens as the stars.</p>
<p class="italic font120">David Murdock is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College.</p>